Jazz studied the woman. She was tall and blond, mid-thirties, and looking very disapproving at the moment. Vivi didn’t appear too ruffled by her hard stare, but her mirth had disappeared. It didn’t look like the two women were on friendly terms, not with the tension stretching between them.
Damn. They were getting along, finally, and he’d thought they were turning the corner. That tanked the moment the woman’s voice interrupted them. No more Vivi relaxed and friendly. His prickly and suspicious film noir heroine returned with a blink of an eye. He felt his earlier frustration returning.
“Of course, Juliana. I’ll be right behind you.”
Vivi’s voice was cool. She didn’t make any attempt to introduce Jazz. He recalled her mentioning that name earlier...oh yeah, the one who looked at numbers. Maybe that was why she was looking at him like he was vermin or something.
“You’re the lieutenant who was released recently,” Juliana said, her gaze cold and measuring. “I’m surprised you’re still in the country. Usually the detainees transfer quickly after a little visit here.”
And how do you do yourself, ma’am? Jazz smiled easily. “Yes.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Just because we couldn’t find any hard evidence to keep you, Lieutenant, doesn’t mean you aren’t guilty in my eyes. If you do what you did again”—her gaze swung back to Vivi—“under different circumstances, you won’t get out so easily.”
“Thank goodness for corroborating eyewitnesses, then,” Vivi countered softly. “We wouldn’t want to make any mistakes and put innocent people in jail now, would we?”
Jazz kept his expression shuttered. Although he seemed to be the subject of contention, he had a feeling that this wasn’t his battle. The other woman was regarding Vivi with veiled dislike; he could only see Vivi’s profile, but her neck and shoulders had tensed slightly when Juliana was talking about his arrest.
“I suppose not. Have you been able to find some placements, Vivienne?”
“No, not yet.”
“Well, do you have any idea when you can find some openings? I have a new list already and you’re still asking for more funds for the old list. Maybe we need a different approach.” Juliana took a few steps into the room, pausing to pour herself a cup of water from the cooler. “You’ve suggested giving more funds to the different safe houses, yet they remain full. I also know you’ve been using some of the funds to bribe the parents. You know we don’t like that idea. We can’t do that forever and you’re just training them to be greedy.”
“I have no idea where you got the impression that I’m bribing the parents,” Vivi said. “I’ve been helping the safe houses, orphanages, and churches. The cash flow is all accounted for in the paperwork each month.”
“I see that, but I’m not stupid, Vivienne.” Juliana finished her drink and threw the paper cup away in the litter basket. “I talked to the girls and some of them relate to me incidences when you’re giving away cash. Now, what I want to know is, are you doing some fancy bookkeeping, and if that’s so, of course I’ll have to report that.”
Ah, the heart of the matter. Jazz recalled the cash Vivi gave to Mr. Tham the other day, telling him to hold off from sending Rose out to “work.”
When Vivi didn’t answer immediately, Juliana shrugged and continued, “I’m not against your intentions, Vivienne. They are wonderful and humane but we can’t afford it. Some girls can’t be saved, no matter how much you want them to be. Pick the youngest—they’re the easiest to foster. The oldest ones have to either go out and find a job or...” She shrugged again.
“Or what, Juliana?” Vivi’s voice was quiet.
“I’m just being realistic. Make some cuts from your list. Our budget gets tighter and we need to show our findings to the UN Council, with high numbers, to get the countries responsible for these crimes to pay more.” She looked at Jazz with contempt before adding, “I might also add that it’s never good to mix work with pleasure. Not good for our image.”
Vivi went to close the door. She didn’t need others listening in. She did her usual thing, knowing it irritated the other woman. She circled the room and made her way to the fish tank on one side of the room. She pressed her hand against the glass and watched the fish rush toward it, anticipating food. She could feel Jazz’s eyes on her.
“Life isn’t all about image, Juliana. Do you have the new list?”
“Of course it’s about image. Do you think things just get done willy-nilly? Our organization must look professional so we can achieve our goals. If we want to be accepted as one of the UN-approved organizations, we have to do things a certain way.”
Vivi shrugged, teasing the fish. She wasn’t part of the organization and perhaps that was what was rankling Juliana, but her job wasn’t to appease the woman or anyone in the organization. “Interpol doesn’t seem to have a problem with my image.” Juliana hated being reminded that Vivi answered to Interpol first, even though her contract was with the organization. It was part of the deal written out by GEM to ensure control and protection from liability issues. “I haven’t done anything to create any problems.”
“Not yet,” Juliana asserted, “but there’ll be if you keep continuing what you’re doing. Do you mind turning around? I find it hard to talk while you play with the fish.”
Vivi hid a smile. Turning, she walked back to the desk and sat down. Jazz stayed where he was, silent and watchful. “And the trouble is?”
Juliana heaved out a sigh. “Do I have to spell it out? The cash flow problem. That is part of your volunteer work so I have something to say about it, don’t you agree? Your refusal to strike names off the list is creating unnecessary work for the rest of the team. In volunteering, you’re part of us and you haven’t been a very good team member. And now you’re going around with an ex-prisoner. What will people think?”
Vivi sat back too, lacing her hands in her lap. She glanced at Jazz, trying to read what he was thinking. His blue eyes were on Juliana, studying her.
“I don’t know. What will they think?” She couldn’t care less, anyway, but she knew Juliana was right about the cash flow. She hadn’t done anything wrong, since she hadn’t used any of the organization’s funds for the bribes. “You’re the public information officer, so I guess you’re more sensitive to these things than I am. As far as I know, I haven’t done anything wrong. Lieutenant Zeringue hasn’t, either, and that’s why he was freed, remember?”
“Perception. Everything is that these days. Your giving money to those parents—they see this and they know how to play the game, Vivienne. You want to save everyone and that’s very noble, but the reality is, you’re hurting the cause. Now, your being seen with this lieutenant—and this is just my perception—is in very bad taste. He was recently seen by the people here as a prisoner—”
“Excuse me, detainee,” Vivi interrupted. She was getting tired of that word. “Lieutenant Zeringue was detained till he was proven to have done nothing wrong. How many times am I supposed to repeat that? Besides, I thought you were accusing me of playing magic number games with the cash logs.”
Since the beginning, Juliana had made it clear Vivi wasn’t a suitable volunteer but because of her ability to mix with the locals, the organization had accepted her time and contributions. Today, she obviously thought she had enough information to go to another level in their ongoing battle. Vivi never underestimated Juliana’s knowledge of numbers and details; she knew the other woman had been waiting for the right moment before confronting her with what she’d been doing.
Juliana came forward and handed over a file. “These are the latest allocations given to our team here. You can see how desperate we are. What you’re doing on the side isn’t helping the cause.” She gave a sideways glance at Jazz again. “I’ll use any means necessary to get you to sign off on those names, Vivi. Misuse of funds is a serious charge, you know.”
“You would like to see me gone, wouldn’t you?” Vivi asked softly. “The others won’t argue too much about the lists of names, whether one girl is less important because she’s older than another, the numbers will all line up with the detainment report, and voilà! a UN stamp of approval faster than you can say ‘Au revoir, Vivienne Verreau’.”
“I don’t see why we couldn’t compromise,” Juliana said smoothly.
“What do you want me to do?”
Juliana looked surprised. She hadn’t expected cooperation yet. “Well, for now,” she said slowly, “we have to pare down your old list. This is the newest list of girls who need places to go to. I’ve already removed the older ones to spare you. The next few weeks are crucial because the second quarter reports are due. If I can show positive results, we’ll get nominated into the UN-approved associations.”
And those were the cards dealt. Make the reports look good and get UN funds. According to people like Juliana, the end justified the means, so a few sacrifices on the way shouldn’t hurt one’s conscience. And as she had so kindly added, she’d already “removed” the older children from the list so Vivi would be “spared” the pain.
Vivi looked down at her lap. Her laced hands had curled into twin fists. As a volunteer, she really had nothing to lose one way or another. But as someone who had been in the shoes of those very same children who were left without hope or help...
Vivi, you will come back and take me away from here, won’t you? The nuns said we aren’t pure, said we are paying for our parents’karma...
Hush! The old baldheaded bitches are just jealous. Now, wipe away those tears, hmm? I’ll be back, I promise.
She looked up. There was a short silence as she stared at Juliana. She could hear in the background the fish tank filter bubbling merrily. Turning away, she looked at the fish swimming so comfortably in their artificial environment. With stubborn determination, she said softly, “I won’t compromise. I can’t.”
There were some things she shouldn’t compromise about. Lives, especially those who were innocent, especially those who needed help most. Juliana’s eyes flashed with anger as she turned and left the office. That final look spoke volumes. She was going to show Vivi’s objectivity was compromised when it came to the organization’s directive.
Vivi didn’t care. She just wasn’t going to play God to children’s lives. She had made promises and meant to keep them. Her jaw tightened with determination. She finally looked up at Jazz, wondering what he thought of the unexpected meeting.
“I’m sorry you’re spending your free time like this, cooped up in an office, listening in on a catfight.” She waved at the pile of papers in front of her. “Those are names and places, and most of them are requests for funds or help of some kind. Give them something and they might find an open spot for one girl, or two. And she doesn’t think that’s bribery? But I can’t say anything because this isn’t my job. I’m just a volunteer for this.”
“Don’t worry about my free time. I’m where I want to be, really. This Juliana can’t really get you into trouble, can she?”
She shook her head. “I’m the liaison for them with Interpol.” She smiled. “I do have some authority, you know. Their organization can’t just order Interpol officers around. Interpol recommended GEM to help them do their work. It’s just that sometimes, the organization is a bit...overeager to achieve their goals. It isn’t any different from any funded groups wanting certain results and not caring how they get them.”
Jazz came to her and leaned over the desk. He touched her cheek. His hand felt warm and tender. “I believe in what you do, Vivi. I know you care about these girls and that they’re more than numbers to you.”
She smiled back tightly. “Much good caring does, huh? I can’t seem to find any permanent solutions. And Miss Numbers wants me to pick and choose. As if—” She bit down on her lower lip.
Jazz felt her helplessness, her inner anger. “We all do what we can to save the world, chouchou.” Not that his words would help. From what he’d just seen and heard, he didn’t think much could be done to persuade Juliana Kohl from following up on her threats. But he wanted to comfort Vivi, who seemed all alone in this fight. “One step at a time, that’s all we can do. Here, I’ll go back to checking out the walls while you finish your paperwork.”
“Okay.”
Vivi looked up half an hour later, distracted by a strange sound. Jazz was checking out a musical instrument. Her mouth softened at the sight of him plucking out an awkward tune that somewhat resembled “Oh Susannah.” She should have known he would be attracted to it once he saw it resting in the corner. It’d been so long since she’d put it there.
“That sounds awful,” she said.
He looked up, the frown of concentration still stamping his features. “It sounds like a banjo. What is it?”
“It isn’t a banjo. It’s a lute. Here, you hold it like this.” She showed him the proper way, with the handle straight up. “It’s called a Dan Nhat, a sun lute, because its body is shaped like the sun.”
She watched as he positioned it the way she had and couldn’t help but marvel at how gentle he was with the instrument. She could easily imagine him with a big heavy weapon, but he held the Dan Nhat as if he’d used it before.
“Is this yours?”
She nodded, then shook her head. “It’s sort of mine. I bought it for a friend, but I haven’t given it to her yet.”
“Do you play it?” he asked.
“Yes, but not well. My friend, though, could play it very well.”
“Show me.” He handed it back to her.
Vivi hesitated before taking it from him. It had been years. She’d bought it out of impulse when she saw it in the market, when she’d first arrived. Sia-Sia had always wanted one. It was a symbol, that she would one day find Sia-Sia and give this to her.
“Well,” she said, and laughed nervously. “My mind is blank.”
She plucked the strings tentatively, slowly getting used to the tension as she adjusted the chords from memory. Then, smiling at him mischievously, she did a quick rendition of “Oh Susannah” without any mistakes.
“Hey,” he said, “you can play pretty well!”
“No, that’s just child’s play. You should hear a professional sometimes. It’s an amazing instrument, sounding between a guitar and a zither depending on the tension and chords.”
“Yeah, I’d like that.”
They looked at each other and Vivi found herself leaning closer. Jazz didn’t move, the blue in his eyes suddenly intense and intimate, the corner of his lips curving up slightly. She could compromise in some things, Vivi thought, as she kissed that tempting mouth.
His lips were warm, gentle even, and he gave her what she needed. She’d held her emotions inside for so long, it was so easy to just let go and not think. There was something about him that soothed her, like a mental anodyne, taking away the pain she kept hidden from everyone. She opened her mouth.
He didn’t need a second invitation. His tongue crept in, and he was no longer gentle. She felt his hands holding her face still as he explored and tasted with such exquisite demand the soothing numbness exploded into something more. How could a kiss make her feel this weak? Her whole insides churned as his lips moved across hers. She felt as if he were drinking in those secrets she’d never shared.
Vivi responded, allowing the torrent of emotions to push away those decades-old barriers. Oh, it felt so good to let go. Her world seemed to come to a standstill, where nothing mattered but this swirl of passion that had caught her in its web. She was helpless against it as waves of need crashed through her senses.
She murmured throatily, pulling at Jazz’s teeshirt, needing him closer. The Dan Nhat was caught between them and its strings jangled strangely, echoing her out-of-tune senses. Unruly. Uncontrolled. Totally letting the moment rule.
Jazz released her lips, and she wanted to protest. His breathing was uneven as he placed soft kisses at the corner of her mouth and up her jaw line.
“This is against everything my body is screaming at me to do, chouchou, but we have to stop before I put you on that desk and make love to you.”
Vivi felt his lips on her closed eyelids. She didn’t want to open them because she knew reality was waiting. Shock rifled through her as she realized how unlike herself she was behaving. Right now, she wouldn’t give a damn about being caught in a passionate embrace. If Juliana had walked in with a crowd of her media connections, they could have stood there with their pens and pads taking notes, and she wouldn’t have noticed.
All she wanted to do was continue kissing this man, with her hand over his heart, feeling it beating faster for her as she responded to his silent demand to let go. Something carnal had reared its head inside, wanting the connection to go further. She allowed him access to the nape of her neck when he nudged at her, then shivered at the first small nibble. His breath was hot against her skin, and his scent tempted her to let this continue.
She opened her eyes, at the same time pushing against his chest. He complied, allowing some space between them, but there was no mistaking the sensual heat in his blue eyes. And that carnal thing inside her responded to that look with the same heat, building and pushing against her as she drowned in that gaze. He looked at her as if he wanted to put his mouth on other parts of her body besides her lips. That thought made those parts clench up in anticipation.
“That isn’t the way to play the lute,” she said, her voice coming out breathless.
“But we make such good music together, chouchou. It gets better with practice. Look how totally cold you were with me our first time when we kissed. I thought you must hate kissing, the length of time it took you to come out of that restaurant.”
Vivi frowned at the mention of the first kiss, her heart skipping a beat...then she realized he’d meant that one earlier in the restaurant, after T had left. She hadn’t responded then because she knew she was being watched. Her walls were still safely protecting her from this man, even though she had to force herself to sit still.
She knew she shouldn’t have let her defenses slip where Jazz was concerned. He covered his male determination very well with that easy cajoling charm. He was a SEAL through and through, and when he wanted something, he went after it.
And damn, the man could French-kiss better than any Frenchman. Of course, she had no intention of giving him that piece of information.
“Look how my kiss can leave you speechless,” he teased with a smile.
Vivi laughed. She hadn’t known a kiss was so tension-relieving. Somehow he’d gotten under her skin, and even made her laugh. That was so rare these days. She would have to kiss more often. More often...She sighed. “I wish we could continue this exercise but this isn’t the time or place.” She handed him the Dan Nhat. “Here, you can borrow it, if you want.”
“I’d rather do something else.” Jazz strummed the lute a couple of times. “See how bad I am with this thing? I’d rather play with you. I promise it’ll be better than our kiss.”
His wink was wicked as he played with the lute with those long, long fingers. Vivi studied them, imagining them on her body. Without a doubt, it would be an experience to remember. She hadn’t wanted to be with a man so badly in a while now. But she had things to do—one of which was to try to find a place for Rose. She was running out of time.
Back to business mode. Back to reality. There was simply no room to think about what Vivi Verreau wanted. She looked at the tall, handsome man who was so out of place in her office. She remembered seeing him without a shirt, remembered the gleaming muscles and flat stomach glistening with perspiration. What sane woman would keep saying no to that body?
“Lieutenant,” she said crisply. “Practice makes perfect.”